A/C Drain Line
 

Handicapped homeowner trying to clean our Condensation drain line on Central
home A/C. I've tried the distilled Vinegar and still over runs.

Anyone suggest an A/C company the want rip you off. Thanks

A shop vac outside trying to draw the water and blockage out of the line is what the A/C company is likely to use. I don't have one but maybe one of your neighbors does.

There are attachments for a garden hose that will try to push water through the line to clear a blockage. I don't like this idea since a hard blockage could cause water to go places it shouldn't, but others have had luck with these.

The hot water or vinegar will keep a line from clogging but won"t help much once it has clogged.

We like Munn's but I've seen other companies mentioned too.

Need to do search (A/C condensation drain line, or A/C drain line clogged) or look through “do it yourself”, this has been brought up several times with lots of good ideas.

It’s a monthly routine I have to add cleaner to condensate drain line. Once line gets clogged you may need to add more vinegar with an assist of shop vac to clean or resort to handyman or A/c service.
There is a product that can be connected to drain line that automatically adds chemical to resolve drain line algae
Amazon.com

Interesting.


A video explaining zooglea ( drain snot) and methods to mitigate it's growth.

https://youtu.be/5VOffWjmWkk?si=f2BzL_50sLbAgtlj

In my opinion, the chemical product sold on Amazon is a waste of money. It adds cost and maintenance that is not needed. I pour a gallon of hot water down the drain every month or so and verify that the water is draining properly. Some people recommend using vinegar, but I just use a lot of water. Occasionally, I will flush the line with a garden hose and a product called the Drain King.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

use your leaf blower
 

use a leaf blower, adapt to fit opening with a funnel

I just loaned my air compressor with air nozzle to my neighbor. Told him to place nozzle in the clean out and seal with a towel or rag or some sort and let er blow! It cleared out the blockage!

We neglected to add hot water one year....resulted in the AC shutting down in July when we had company. Called out Munn's who figured this out quickly and got AC working again. Whichever approach you take, don't delay for your own comfort and safety.

If you still need help, send me a private message with your contact info and I’ll come by and fix it for you for free.

Trap prime
 

Good luck with finding an honest ac guy.
But, check that the trap is primed. If you hear bubbling, the trap needs to be primed. Block the drain and see if it will prime itself. An unprimed trap will prevent water from flowing out and overflow the evaporator pan.
Shopvac trick is great but you need to follow up with priming the trap and bleach or vinegar at least quarterly.

New home owner here (not a newly built home) -- so just open the cap on the PVC attached to the HVAC, and pour in warm water? Recommended amount? Thanks.

I've heard one gallon recommended and I have a one-gallon pitcher handy so that's what I use.

I use the hottest water I can get from the tap. Some suggest adding white vinegar but I don't.

A funnel is handy to avoid spilling. I pour as fast as the funnel will take it. If water started backing up in the line and spilling out I would be concerned - so far that hasn't happened.

Monthly. Hot water is good. I catch it in a second gallon jug at the outlet to be sure that it is clean and clear. Then pour the clean water into storm drain.

Adding vinegar would lower the pH. I don't think there is any benefit to that.

I agree that using a garden hose to unclog a blockage is not a good idea. But, using a garden hose to flush the line that is not blocked will do a good job at removing gunk and debris from the pipe. My drain seems to accumulate a white chalky substance.

I run 24 oz. of water through my Keurig and pour that down the drain pipe. Have a receptacle on the other end to catch the water so you can be sure it's getting through.

Try a You Tube search.

I don't know what water temperature a Kuerig produces, but the highest recommended temperature for PVC pipe is 140 degrees. In another thread, some posters said that they used boiling water, which is not a good idea. You especially don't want to melt the glue that holds the piping together.

I was told by one serviceman to use water with vinegar, another told me to use a little dawn and water and another said not to use either as it could get sucked into the unit if it turned on during your water routine. I use hot water on the first of each month.

I do the same thing.

Have an AC service done every six months and you will not have this problem.

I use Sensible Air & Heat; He was just out a week ago. We were doing the vinegar, but he says 50% water 50% Bleach.

If you need a free funnel, cut the bottom off of any plastic bottle & the top becomes the bottom of your free funnel.

There doesn't seem to be any consensus on what to use (vinegar, dish soap, plain hot water, etc.), but very few technicians will recommend bleach because the fumes can back up into the air handler unit and cause corrosion.

Apparently this wasn't a problem when copper was used in the cooling coils. Copper is an antimicrobial even in very small concentrations

Some have suggested/claimed placing a few small copper rods in the drain pan helps keep the biofilm from forming.

We used to use it to keep algae from forming in our pondless waterfall.

Another suggestion in this thread:

Cleaning slime mold from condensate drains

I found some large 1" crystals of copper sulfate and put one in each drain pan.

The copper sulfate crystal very gradually dissolves in the condensate and keeps the drain and the pan completely clear of mold and slime.

I was doing this for my customers back 50 years ago when I owned a HVAC business, and continue to do it for my own condensate pans today.

You will never see mold growing on a roof below copper roof flashing. The same is true there.

Copper is a mineral and it's found in small quantities in the earth everywhere, so non-polluting. Most houses have copper plumbing with drinking water running through it. In high quantity, like the crystal, it would be dangerous if you ate it though.

FYI, I sent a message to the "Ask the Expert" section on the Munn's website about how to maintain the condensate drain line. This morning, they called me back and said that they no longer recommend using any chemicals to flush the drain. Their current recommendation is to add a gallon of warm water to the drain at least 4 times per year. This recommendation is endorsed by Carrier, which is a very common brand HVAC system in The Villages. In the past, Munn's recommended using vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or dish soap, but they no longer recommend these chemicals.